Breadcrumb

Kristi Ryujin

Biography

Kristi Ryujin, Director for Diversity Affairs, holds a M.Ed. in Education, Culture and Society from the University of Utah. Prior to joining the Leeds School of Business, Ms. Ryujin served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Diversity Initiatives at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. At UMKC, Ms. Ryujin created and implemented speaker programs that include the Rosa Parks Lecture on Social Justice and Activism, Martin Luther King Celebration, UMKC Pride Celebration, César Chávez Celebration, Social Justice Lecture and Book Program and multiple panels and films. In addition to her work to bring diverse speakers and perspectives to the UMKC campus, Kristi provided diversity training for numerous UMKC offices and departments. Ms. Ryujin developed fundraising programs for the Agapito Mendoza and UMKC Pride Empowerment Scholarships to support the ongoing needs of diverse students. In spring 2009, she received the prestigious Outstanding Staff Award from the LGBT office at UMKC for her work to support Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender students, staff and faculty. Ms. Ryujin was the principal investigator on multiple grants including KC LEADS, a leadership program for high school girls of Color; Educación, a math tutoring program for Alta Vista Middle and High Schools: Avanzando, a retention and graduation program for Hispanic Development Fund Scholarship Recipients and The Pipeline – A Pilot Program, a multi-tiered educational outreach program for K-12 students in the Kansas City, Missouri School District. In 2013, Kristi received the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Ace Award for her work in diversity.

In addition to her work at UMKC, Kristi honed her skills in successful programs for underrepresented students at the University of Utah where she was the School of Medicine’s Director of Diversity and Outreach and later Director of Diversity Scholarships and Grant Programs in the Office of the Associate Vice President for Diversity. A three-time recipient of the university’s prestigious Diversity Award for work done in three different offices, Ms. Ryujin created pipeline programs for elementary, junior and high school students into the health sciences; developed the Health Sciences LEAP class curriculum for college students interested in health science majors; was responsible for the National Youth Sports Program and Utah Opportunity Scholarship; co-Principal Investigator and co-Director for the American Indian Teacher Training Program, a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education which prepared indigenous students to become educators in their own communities; and co-Director for the Center for the Study of Empowered Students of Color, which prepared undergraduates for advanced degrees through research and publication opportunities.